When Miley Cyrus starred as a reluctant bounty hunter in a remake of "Hannie Caulder" the film only got so-so reviews but its box office receipts made Hollywood Pictures order a sequel.
There was just one problem, well, several problems.
Chief among them was that Miley wouldn't commit to a sequel.
I wasn't privy to the inside details but Chuck Tyler had been deep in negotiations with the studio and with Miley's people. And from what I could tell, it wasn't going well. I wasn't all that surprised. The film's director, Mark Stein, had differences with the studio. He felt that they hadn't been very supportive of him and were lobbying for someone else to direct the sequel. Add to that the studio was going through upheaval in the front office and those who'd been on board for the first film weren't there now.
And then there was the film's star.
Miley hadn't been very happy with the film even though I saw a rough cut of it with her and she seemed pleased to be playing an adult character. So recasting the lead made the studio nervous. Plus in the time since its release, she'd morphed into the tongue-wagging, weed smoking, twerking Hollywood rebel with a punkish blonde look that replaced the gorgeous redhead I once knew. It was so different that I wondered if there was an "evil twin" hidden away in the mountains of Tennessee who'd somehow escaped and switched places with the girl I knew.
"Maybe it's time you flexed a little muscle." Mark said to me as we ran on the treadmills at Malibu Athletics, a new workout club opened by Brooke Burke and of which Artists Unlimited was a heavy investor (albeit secretly).
"What muscle?" I replied as best I could while running
"You know what I mean...what I told you in San Francisco, remember?"
When we'd been in San Francisco doing a photo gig related to the TV series "Nashville", Mark related his frustration with the studio's handling of "Hannie Caulder" and suggested I sign on as an Associate Producer. The idea being I could ease whatever problems Mark had since the studio knew my work and more importantly, knew Artists Unlimited's influence when it came to casting its clients. So I'd be a "go-between" as it were.
His remark made me stop my run.
"You're not serious about that, are you?"
"Look, Jim. It might be the only way this film gets made."
"Get outta here! How?" I replied, stunned.
"Miley hasn't committed to the film and I think if she drops out this might end up a direct to DVD project that only Wal-Mart shoppers will see. That is if they're not downloading it at home."
"I'm not the one to talk to, it's her people you need to convince."
"But you know her."
"No, I don't!" I said firmly "I'm a friend, that's all."
"A friend who was seen being led to her tour bus, by Miss Miley herself." he said in a tone that seemed to imply that my "relationship" with her could be used against me.
I was speechless and gave him a hard stare, the likes of which had only been seen in movies.
"Are you trying to blackmail me?"
"No! Just trying to get a film made."
"You don't get films made by blackmailing people with no influence."
"I know that!" he said trying to reassure me his intentions were honorable "I just think we'll have a better film with Miley than someone else. The film will get a better push from the studio and all those involved. And that would include you. I don't intend this to be a no-show job, you know."
He had a point, but I knew there was still one aspect he forgot about.
"What about recasting the lead? In case you can't reach a deal with Miley."
"Who do you suggest?"
Perhaps I had the upper hand now.
"Well, I remember how we had a certain actress at that San Francisco dinner who was interested."
Mark thought for a minute, "Hayden?" he replied, clearly surprised.
He was referring to Hayden Panettierre, who'd overheard Mark's complaints and boldly suggested herself for the lead.
"What have you got to lose just testing her?" I said then added "If I remember correctly, that's the same thing I said when you didn't think she was right."
Mark looked like he was giving it serious thought.
"If you want leverage in something like this, that's what you should do. Maybe that'll convince Miss Miley. I get the feeling she doesn't want someone stealing her thunder in something like this."
I finished my run and grabbed my water bottle.
"Think it over, pal."
Two weeks later, a DVD arrived at my desk with a note;
"Tell me what you think."
It was from Mark.
I popped it into my computer and watched.
On what looked like some kind of desert landscape, a horse with no rider trotted up to a solitary figure whose back was to the camera. The figure greeted the horse then turned to the camera.
It was Hayden, in character and looking dangerous with dark red hair and wearing a flat brimmed hat, dusty poncho and black leather chaps. As if hearing a noise near her, she whirled around and drew her weapon, firing off several shots that sounded like a cap pistol.
The next scene had her sitting at a saloon poker table and slowly leaning back in her chair, like she was sizing up a potential quarry.
"Pretty big talk from a one-eyed fat man..." she said
I chuckled a little, I knew it was a famous line said to John Wayne in "True Grit" that prompted a climactic gunfight. In this case, it prompted Hayden to kick over the table and fire her guns.
The last scene had her with an unseen co-star. Hayden looked like she'd been in quite a battle, her shoulder was bloodied.
"This fight ain't over yet..." she hissed through the pain of her wounds "I wanna get that bastard."
"But you're shot! We've gotta get out of here!" a female voice cried
"Just gimme my gun...just gimme my gun..."
The DVD ended there.
I wasn't disappointed, but I hate to say, not necessarily knocked out by it either. I'd seen Miley's take on the character and now that I thought about it, felt the same way. It was a decent film. It all came down to the script, though. I watched it a couple of more times, then called Mark.
"Has the script been finished? I mean, what's the story going to be? You can't just rehash the first film, you know."
"I know...but let me ask you this." he began "What if we could get, say, Jennifer Lawrence in the film?"
"I'd say your budget just got a big increase...but that makes no sense. Someone like her should've been in the first film. Even a dumbbell like me knows you don't replace a lesser star with a bigger star as the lead in a sequel, it's usually the other way round."
"You've got a point there, but the studio wants her. Not me."
"And if she said yes?"
"Like you said, this film would get a whole lot bigger."
"Well, it's your film...I'm just an Associate Producer. If you can get her, I say go for it."
"OK, I'll call you soon."
It turned out that Mark was bluffing like a master Poker player.
When the Hollywood rumor mill broke the news that Jennifer Lawrence could be replacing Miley Cyrus in "The Return of Hannie Caulder", it immediately brought Miley's team back to the negotiating table. Within days, it was announced that Miley would indeed star in the sequel after all. Mark got what he wanted, Miley got what she wanted, and I (reluctantly) got what I wanted. As for that DVD of Hayden's screen test, I kept it as a little souvenir.
"The Return of Hannie Caulder" would find the title character hired by a young girl to track down the killer of her father, who owned valuable land coveted by a railroad baron. Mark originally planned to secure one of the last remaining western town back lots for the film, rather than have a fake one built on location. But once he got a look at the set, one that had been used in countless TV westerns he realized it wouldn't work. So one was hurriedly built at the location on the Mexican coastline while he did interior scenes back in LA. The new location actually worked for him. There was a large resort named The Conquistador nearby and the surrounding area would be good for any scenes "on the trail" as it were. It didn't seem as tough a landscape as what he had on the first film.
Once I saw where the location would be, I decided to take advantage of my status at the company. It had been a long time since I took anything resembling a vacation, so I booked a room at the resort so I'd have a weekend for myself before getting back into the work grind.
When I arrived, I had a strange sense I'd been there before.
"Uh, when did this place open?" I asked the desk clerk.
